Muleskinner
"We ought to be able to reach the next inn by nightfall, if we press a bit harder. It’s either that, or risk a night in the open with raiders and wolves." Basic (RC) Muleskinners guide trains of pack animals, normally mules, across the Border Princes, carrying vital supplies from one settlement to another. Vital but cheap supplies might be transported by a single Muleskinner, while more valuable goods merit at least a few men, and possibly mercenary guards as well. Sometimes, the Muleskinners just don’t let on that they are carrying anything valuable and just hope the bandits ignore them. With all their travel, Muleskinners often know the Borderlands better than just about anyone else, and some choose to put that knowledge to use earning a living in other ways. Muleskinners also hold mule skinning contests. The dead mule record is under a minute; the live mule record, held unchallenged by Alberic “Flat Face” Schilp, is five and a half minutes. Main Profile Secondary Profile Skills: Animal Care, Common Knowledge (Border Princes), Evaluate, Gossip, Haggle, Navigate, Outdoor Survival, Perception, Speak Language (any one) Talents: Orientation, Seasoned Traveller Trappings: Light Armour (Leather Jack), three Mules, Bow Career Entries Burgher, Hunter, Messenger, Peasant Career Exits Animal Trainer, Burgher, Highwayman, Merchant, Messenger, Outlaw, Scout A Day in the Life Up at dawn with the birds, the life of the Muleskinner is a hard one. His first order of the day, even before breaking his fast, is to look to the mule train. Feeding the all-important beasts of burden and checking them for injuries insures the muleskinner can fulfil his obligations. Once he has taken care of these duties, he can look forward to a hard day leading, or riding, his stubborn charges through oftendangerous territory. On smaller runs, and with unimportant cargo, the muleskinner is all that stands in the way of the bandits, goblins, and other ne’er-do-wells that plague his travels. His exertions make him hardy and he can well withstand the rigours of a tough journey. Before night falls, he must find a sheltered spot to picket the mules and set up his camp away from prying eyes. Only once he has tended his mules once more will he dare catch a brief rest before the work starts all over again. Only on relatively safer runs can he and his fellows relax. Notable Figures – Alberic “Flat-Face” Schilp A legend in his own lifetime, Alberic holds not one, but two records amongst the muleskinners of the Borderlands. His most famous exploit is, of course, his live mule skinning record, earned one dark, ale-filled evening. Not one to rest on his laurels, Alberic then did the Vapour Gorge run in twenty-four hours. By the time he arrived in Privy Gulch, his hair was yellow (and folks would swear it was auburn when he started), his flat face florid, and nine of his ten mules had died. What he was unable to load onto the lone survivor, he had carried himself through to the end.